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Music Oct 04, 2022
Kanye West. | Photo by Rodrigo Ferrari (CC BY-NC 2.0)
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Attorneys for Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, are urging a judge to dismiss a lawsuit that claims the rapper owes $7.1 million in unpaid fees to a production company that worked on his behalf in various projects, including his canceled Coachella performance in April.
The suit filed July 14 in Los Angeles Superior Court by plaintiff Phantom Labs Inc. against the singer and three companies, including Very Good Touring Inc., states that the production firm performed its obligations to Ye, but was not paid as required under the parties’ contract. The suit seeks $7.1 million in damages.
“Phantom faithfully performed all the work that Ye and his team requested and approved, often on short notice, incurring millions of dollars in budgeted expenses and other costs on Ye’s behalf,” the suit states.
But in court papers filed Monday containing Ye’s answer to the claims, the performer’s attorneys state that his obligations were “excused in whole or in part due to (Phantom’s) failure to perform its contractual obligations.”
Some or all of Phantom’s claims are barred because Phantom has “materially breached its obligations under the contract, whether written or oral, express or implied,” according to Ye’s lawyers’ court papers.
Ye’s attorneys also allege in their court papers that Phantom “failed to mitigate damages” and that some or all of the claims are barred by the legal doctrine of unjust enrichment, which occurs when one party confers a benefit upon another without the conferring party receiving the proper restitution.
All of the claims are barred by the statute of limitations and some of the causes of action are so vague that Ye’s lawyers cannot determine what defenses are available to challenge them, according to Ye’s attorneys’ court papers.
Ye’s lawyers state in their court papers that Phantom should “take nothing by reason of its complaint,” which the attorneys further say should be “dismissed with prejudice,” meaning it could not be refiled.
But according to the suit, just weeks after promising to make Phantom whole from the reported $9 million payment the singer was to receive for his Coachella appearance, Ye without warning decided not to appear at the concert, allegedly reneging on promises to pay Phantom’s multimillion-dollar balance and leaving the plaintiff with an additional $1.1 million in Coachella-related cancellation fees and other expenses, the suit states.
Ye was expected to headline the closing night of each weekend on April 17 and April 24.
Phantom also worked on Ye and Drake’s “Free Larry Hoover” concert at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, according to the suit.
